I also like to hear about the tough times that people have in web development. Too many stories here are along the lines of...
ASK HN: I'm making (insert figure for annual per capita GDP of emerging market household) monthly (if not weekly) - how can I get more free time for my start-up?
First world problems.
Web development isn't terribly hard. It's not easy, but that argument is pointless because the stuff we do in our editor certainly isn't the hardest part. The hard part is dealing with clients and managing the business.
We see so many articles here and in the media pumping people up talking about the lack of developers and how they can basically write their own paychecks. Meanwhile, good developers in the Philippines might make $800 / month. A good developer (but bad business manager) freelancing in the U.S. might not make much more than that (as you
I think web development probably looks much like the rest of the economy. The top 1% are fantastically successful. The top 10% is probably doing pretty well. The last 90% are probably struggling.
About the article. Perhaps you picked the title just to be catchy, but aren't you already a pro? As web developers, are we just geeks? Are our clients picking us up because we are geeks that they have to deal with? Or are we actually pro's who are creating value for them?